


A New Chapter

by artbyweb86



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck needs a hug, Buck's family is the 118, Eddie is a supportive boyfriend, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Worried Firefam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artbyweb86/pseuds/artbyweb86
Summary: Abby returns something of Buck’s all these years later
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 213





	A New Chapter

Buck didn't know why he grabbed his mail and brought it to the station.

He hadn't had a chance to check it in the last couple of days, and since he passed the mailboxes on the way out of his complex, he decided why not.

He usually gets very little mail, junk mostly. Some bills, but he has gone mostly paperless.

There was a small manila envelope in there as well, no return address. He didn't recognize the handwriting.

He tossed the mail onto his front seat and drove his way to the station.

He arrived at the station and went to the locker room to change, again bringing the mail with him and stuck it in his locker for later.

The day was a busy one, no crazy calls or even dangerous ones, but it just seemed like they were running around all day. The heat didn't help the situation either. People seemed tense all around.

They finally made it back to the station with a few hours left in their shift. Bobby promised to make a hearty dinner for them, so he went to the kitchen to prepare it.

Buck went to the locker room to take a quick shower and change into fresh clothes.

He remembered his mail in the locker and took it up the lounge area where Eddie was already reading a book on one of the couches. He sat next to him. Eddie glanced up with a smile and returned to his book.

Chimney and Hen were helping in the kitchen.

He sifted through his mail and tore up the obvious junk mail. He had one utility bill that he would save for later.

He was curious about the envelope, still not recognizing the handwriting on the front.

He opened it up and looked in. It looked like a letter, so he pulled it out.

He stared at it for a second, trying to process the many emotions he was feeling. He even flipped it over, to see it had been unopened.

"What the hell!" 

He dug the heels of his hands over his eyes to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“What the actual hell!”

Eddie was watching this with concern. The others in the kitchen also turned when they heard the distress in his voice. He was about to reach for Buck’s shoulder, when he sat up with an angry huff and mumbling to himself before wiping away an angry tear, and stalking towards the locker room. He thought he heard him say, “why would she do this now?”

Glancing at the letter that made Buck so upset, his eyes went wide.

Hen gave him a look and all he said was, “It’s a letter he sent to Abby, it’s unopened.”

She and Chimney exchanged a look before she shook her head in disgust. 

“Eddie, what are you still doing here? Go check if your boo is OK! Go, go!”

“Right, right.”

He made his way to the locker room and hesitated befor knocking on the door and walking in. 

Buck was sitting on the bench, facing the locker. He jumped when he heard Eddie clear his throat.

Wiping the tears off his face, he sat up and tried to pull himself together.

“Sorry, that was unprofessional of me.”

“No need to apologize! Abby seems to pop up at the most inconvenient times, doesn’t she?”

He nodded in agreement, hiccuping a little.

Eddie sat next to him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

“You don’t have to talk about it. I’ll just sit here with you.”

He peppered kisses to his boyfriend’s temple and hairline, waiting for Buck to calm down.

Buck leaned his head on Eddie’s shoulder and they just sat for a few minutes.

“I would like to talk about it.”

Eddie just nodded, letting Buck take the lead.

“Can we go back to the kitchen, I wanna talk about it with everyone. You guys are my family, and I feel like I need to get it off my chest. I don’t know if Abby ever saw me as anything else then a stupid boy.”

“Hey! Don’t put yourself down like that. You are not a stupid boy. You are my handsome, loves to learn, amazing father figure to my son, boyfriend. Let’s go. Before you start questioning everything.”

He stood up and held out his hand to hoist Buck up from his sitting position and they made their way to the kitchen again.

The rest of the team were keeping busy with the dinner prep, but the mood had changed. They were quiet, instead of the usual banter.

Athena had joined the group. From her expression, she seemed to have been caught up with the situation.

“I’m sorry guys. I don’t know what came over me. It won’t happen again.”

“You were blindsided, again, by Abby, and she wasn’t even here this time!” Hen spoke.

“That was a letter I wrote to her, when I finally decided to leave her apartment. It was to thank her for everything. We had been through a lot in the short time we were together. She made me a better person. We were good for each other, until it wasn’t enough for her.”

“She was selfish for stringing you along the whole time she was away. I thought I could like her, because she came to welcome me back after my accident. But she only doing to maybe feel some normalcy. She latched onto your young spirit and sucked it right out.” Chim said.

“She wasn’t a leech, Chimney! She wasn’t all that bad. She helped me grow.”

“I kind of have to disagree with you on that one Buck.” Bobby spoke up.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think she is a leech, but she didn’t help you grow. You did that all on your own.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You were already ready to change your lifestyle, from meaningless hookups and reckless behavior. Sure you have crazy impulses still, but you were ready to change. You were looking for real connection. You decided to the set the pace for once. You liked her, so you settled for phone calls first. Then it became more intimate. You told me on your first date you didn’t want to mess it up. You were so nervous. I guided you a little in how to behave, and you thrived from there.”

“I gave my all to her. I went out of my way to make her happy and look where it got me. She ghosted me. So there must be something wrong with me, for her to want to leave like that.”

“No! There is nothing wrong for giving your whole heart to someone. She might have seen it for a second, but then grief and whatever else, clouded her mind and she made a poor choice.”

“It’s like her non-apology after I saw her after the train crash. She didn’t make me feel any better about my self. She was just thinking about herself. I forgave her anyway, hoping to put everything behind us and move on. But clearly she decided to throw one more blow.” 

He pointed to the letter sitting in front of him. Which has now been sent six months after that meeting. He wanted to throw up.

“I hope you guys never get tired of me. Please tell me if I am ever being too bothersome. I don’t want you guys to leave me.”

The air seemed to get thinner as there was a collective gasp at the table.

He couldn’t believe he just said that out loud.

“Sorry, it just been weighing on me, ever since Red died. I talked to Maddie about it, how she left me. My parents were largely absent from taking care of me. Abby left. Allie couldn’t be part of my life. I almost lost you guys after the lawsuit.”

He was drained after that confession. Letting a few tears fall. He hated being vulnerable in front of everyone, but he couldn’t keep everything hidden anymore.

“We would never get tired of you Buckaroo. Sure we butted heads in the beginning, but once we got past that little hitch, you became a light in our life. You are like my son. Bobby thinks so too. That part of your life was a bad chapter. It had really good things in it, but it just ended in the way you were not expecting it to. Think of this as a new chapter for your life."

Bobby nodded, smiling. He was wiping some tears from his cheeks. He had to excuse himself to finish preparing dinner.

“And you are like my annoying little baby brother. But not really annoying. But, you know what I mean.” Hen said.

“And you are my brother. Since I am dating your sister. And we are having a baby. That child will want their uncle to spoil her to bits.”

“Her?” His heart leaped in his chest.

“Oh, rats! We are supposed to have a gender reveal party next week! Well, try not to let Maddie know I told everyone. Please act surprised. God, I had one job!”

Everyone laughed, the air feeling more light.

Bobby was placing the food on the table.

“And I am with you now. Christopher and I love you so much. We are not going anywhere. You changed my life for the better. Let’s promise to lift each other as much as we can.”

“If you ever feel like we are neglecting you, I want you to raise a big stink, and we will do better.” Hen added.

As they were passing their food around, Eddie whispered into his ear.

“I am gonna marry you, one day, soon.”

He smiled brightly, blushed at that, and forgetting where he was, pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Bobby cleared his throat after a minute into their make out session.

They pulled away, apologizing with big smiles. Bobby just smiled, chuckled, and raised a glass, waiting for the rest to do the same.

“To Family!”

“To Family!” The table echoed back.

“Let’s eat!”


End file.
